Prof Jonathan Weber retires at Dean of Medicine

Prof Weber steps down after five years as Dean, and 32 years as an Imperial Professor

Professor Jonathan Weber retired as Dean of Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine on 31 July, having held the position since 2018. A clinician by training and a renowned HIV/AIDS researcher, he has also been Director of the Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre since 2014—a role that he continues to hold.  

During his tenure as Dean, he oversaw a comprehensive reorganisation of the Faculty that resulted in eight academic departments, led equally by men and women. This has been supported by a £200 million estates programme to provide the best possible space for teaching and research. 

There have been major successes through the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, the £95 million award for the NIHR Imperial BRC in 2022, as well as the CRUK Major Centre with ICR, the BHF Centre of Excellence, the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre, and the NIHR Imperial Clinical Research Facility. 

Across education, Imperial College School of Medicine 2022 NSS results showed the highest overall satisfaction across all London medical schools, the jointly-run LKC Medicine in Singapore has gone from strength to strength, and Imperial is working with the University of Cumbria to launch a brand new medical school for 2025.

Prof Hugh Brady, Imperial President, said: “Jonathan’s transformational leadership has steered the Faculty of Medicine to a range of impressive achievements in recent years. I’m sure I speak for everyone who has worked with Jonathan when I say thank you for your 32 years of unwavering dedication to Imperial and your enthusiastic support of colleagues and students. We wish Jonathan the very best in his next endeavours.” 

Prof Ian Walmsley, Imperial Provost, said: “Jonathan has had a marked impact on the Faculty and on the College during his tenure, shaping both medicine and Imperial to be able to capture new opportunities and to drive research and teaching agendas for the future. His capacity for strategic thinking, allied with his eye for operational detail, and his empathy for people across the piece have made it a privilege and a pleasure to work with him. I’m glad he’ll still be part of the College as Director of the AHSC and as a researcher for the immediate future, and thank him for his contributions to Imperial." 

Prof Marina Botto, Head of Department of Immunology and Inflammation, said: “Jonathan was transformational for the Faculty of Medicine. The impact of his leadership and academic vision will remain as a precious legacy for the future. Jonathan’s energy, devotion and passion for the Faculty of Medicine was contagious and will be long remembered.  It was a great privilege and honour to be part of his team and I have immensely appreciated his mentorship and support. He was such an inspiring leader, always present when needed and always caring.  I would like to offer my personal thanks to him for trusting me with added responsibility and for his incredible generosity.  He will be much missed.” 

Prof George Hanna, Head of the Department of Surgery and Cancer, said: “Jonathan has exemplified unique qualities that are rare for a single leader to have - directing the strategy of the Faculty of Medicine while taking care of operational details; and supporting the development of departments while maintaining special interest in staff career development. He created an excellent collegiate Faculty of Medicine Board and a very supportive environment that was very enjoyable to serve in under his leadership.” 

Prof Amir Sam, Head of Imperial College School of Medicine, said: “Professor Weber is the embodiment of leadership with integrity and kindness. He genuinely cares about student experience and has empowered the medical school faculty to explore new ideas and innovations. Our community has benefitted enormously from his vision and passion for delivering evidence-based medical education. We could not have achieved our aspirations without Jonathan’s unwavering support.” 

Prof Tim Orchard, Chief Executive at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Jonathan leaves behind a fantastic legacy from his time as Dean - not just for the College and its academics and students but also for the Trust and our staff and patients. He's helped lead a really important realignment of NHS and College priorities that is enabling our long-standing partnership to generate even more value. We look forward to continuing to work with him on our wider academic health science centre agenda.” 

Professor Weber will continue as Director of the Imperial Academic Health Science Centre and work towards completing his ongoing research programme.